At the May 15 meeting Dave Johnson gave his presentation that was very informative and included a ton of information.
Dave is one of the most generous people around and here is a link that he has made available to us as pdf downloads.
Following the presentation several members brought their own flash equipment to practice with Dave’s help. Here is a practice image by Richard Hudson. Well done, Richard!
My most recent post had the wrong address for the garden, which I discovered last Sunday when I previewed the location. In just a short walk along the Trillium Trail there were many woodland flowers in bloom, very close to the path.
Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary Group Outing
The gardens open at 7:30 AM. This 13 acre garden and bird sanctuary is a popular spot due to the huge variety of flowers and native plants along trails that visit bog, forest and upland prairie habitats. There is no admission fee. Informal photos of plants and garden areas for personal use are permitted while remaining completely on the trails at all times. The use of tripods and other equipment is strongly discouraged. Any tripods or equipment used must remain completely on the trails at all times and must not impede other visitors’ ability to walk on a trail. This time of the year is the best for woodland flowers and spring ephemerals. I plan on bringing a tripod, reflector and diffuser.
Please send your best shots to photowalk@wiphotoclub.com and I’ll put up a gallery.
On Wednesday, May 15, 6:30 pm, Dave Johnson will show us how to get the best results with your flash equipment, indoors and out. Dave has long had a passion for teaching photography, having taught at several colleges and universities in the upper Midwest. He’s done presentations at Spring Break and area camera clubs. He is currently manager of the wedding and portrait division of National Camera Exchange. He’s a member of the PPA and was awarded the MNPPA’s annual “Addie Award” for outstanding service to photography. Bring your camera and speed lights for hands-on activities after his talk.
The gardens open at 7:30 AM. This 13 acre garden and bird sanctuary is a popular spot due to the huge variety of flowers and native plants along trails that visit bog, forest and upland prairie habitats. There is no admission fee. Informal photos of plants and garden areas for personal use are permitted while remaining completely on the trails at all times. The use of tripods and other equipment is strongly discouraged. Any tripods or equipment used must remain completely on the trails at all times and must not impede other visitors’ ability to walk on a trail. This time of the year is the best for woodland flowers and spring ephemerals. I plan on bringing a tripod, reflector and diffuser. Here is a link for more information on the gardens.
On Saturday May 18, 1:00-3:00 pm we will be judging the Pictorial contest for N4C. We will need three judges, one person to operate the judging machine, one person to display images from a laptop and one person to record scores. Please let me know if you can help by using the contact form.
The event is free!
Photo by Will C. Fritsch
One of the benefits of club membership is this new feature that was added this year. It’s an opportunity to display a body of work, reflecting your personal style and interests. This is not intended as a competition, and there are virtually no rules as long as the photos follow a theme. So far 16 member portfolios have been added to our website, with the newest one being posted for MJ Springett. Consider joining in…the guidelines are here.
AC Johnson Light Painted Motorcycle
At the April 17 meeting Alec Johnson’s talk will feature a series of bold and unique images using the technique of light painting – lighting a subject with a flashlight one detail at a time with a flashlight – and then compositing those frames of light to build a finished image. Each image is its own case study, creating an engaging, lively and educational discussion.
Alec Johnson is a full-time tenured professor at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, MN. He is also a freelance architecture photographer and award-winning fine art photographer. He was an exhibitor of the international juried show, “The Portrait” at Praxis Photo Arts Center December 2018. This past summer, 2018, he was accepted in the Minnesota State Fair Art Exhibition and received the Jennifer and William Oliver award for “unique, innovative and unusual” work of art. Alec is also a Singh Ray Filters pro photographer.
Alec’s current photo projects include Outside the Arena, a series featuring the pre-competition ritual of rodeo riders. He is also working on a studio series titled Comfortable. This series is study of space, color and shape in the context of 60’s era comfort food, furniture and table settings. He is represented by the Sterling Art Gallery located in Silver City, New Mexico.
What a great Spring Break today! I was so inspired by all the great programs that I attended, but especially by Gary Alan Nelson’s “Semi-Abstract Photography” program. My head has been spinning ever since thinking about all the possibilities. I had tried to get him to speak at one of our meetings a couple years ago, but it was not to be. You can see more of his wonderful work at his website. It was gratifying to see so many of our members who took advantage of all the opportunities today. And I was happy to see that Dorothy Nordstrand won the door prize of a book of North Shore images by Craig Blacklock.
The day ended with the Interclub Competition Awards. I am grateful for all our members who helped on the judging day and for helping to hand out the awards. Our club is the 2019 Runner-Up Club of the Year and 15 members brought home 65 ribbons or awards. The winning images have been posted here and congratulations to all!
A lone hiker watches the sunrise over Lake Superior from Artist’s Point in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
At the May 1 meeting at 6:30 pm, professional landscape photographer Bryan Hansel will talk about his favorite locations on Minnesota’s north shore to capture the essence of what it is like to live in the north. Hansel, who has lived in Grand Marais for over a decade and a half has explored almost every gravel and dirt road in Cook County and many of the nearby counties as well. He not only has photographed the iconic locations but has found new and undocumented locations as well. He’ll present his work and explain how he made each picture and why it works as a photograph.
Join Bryan on the shore of the river for a sunrise and golden hour mini-workshop. The workshop will cover composition for sunrise as well as filters. The mini-workshop starts at 5am and ends at 9am. Cost is $60. Bryan tells me that the workshop will be held along the St. Croix River. To reserve your spot, please use the contact form to let me know as soon as possible since there will be a limit in the number of participants. The fee of $60.00 will be payable to Bryan Hansel.
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” — Pablo Picasso
Creative Composite Inspiration – photo by Michael Huber
One of the things about photography is that there is so much to learn. This means that I will never know how to do everything and there will always be something new to challenge me, to be a reason to get out there and just do it. What are my photography goals?
And this is just my short list! I find myself overwhelmed by club members and other photographers on the internet who inspire me and make me think, “I want to do that, too.” I am especially inspired by the member portfolios that have been posted so far.
Winter Photography Inspiration – photo by Mike Chrun
Obviously I couldn’t possibly reach all these goals in one year and most of them would take years to achieve a proficiency that would satisfy me. So, focus, focus! I will choose just one of these this year to give my special attention. It will be a goal that I believe is achievable or at least be a great start that I can focus on this year.
Do you have a photography goal for 2019? It’s not too late. Please tell me what it is by using the contact form and at the January 2020 meeting we will share our achievements with the club.
Our winter weather isn’t over yet and I am still enjoying the pristine beauty of snow falling in my yard as I write this. Even so, my thoughts are turning to that miracle of spring where the color pallet is less white and grey and a walk outdoors will show all the variations of the color green as everything comes back to life. And it will be music to my ears to hear the birds again, calling to mates, building nests and raising their young.
Our next meeting on Wednesday, March 6, is just what I need. This presentation examines the expanding intersection between the birding hobby and bird photography. Photographer and birder Dr. Michelle Terrell will share from her own experiences tips for taking engaging bird photographs while being respectful of the birds, their habitat, and fellow birders and photographers.
Michelle Terrell is Vice President of the St. Croix Valley Camera Club and an avid outdoor photographer. As a native Minnesotan, she enjoys documenting our state’s wide variety of natural subjects from tiny woodland fungi to horizon-spanning northern lights. When not taking photos, Dr. Terrell is a professional archaeologist and historian.
Our own knowledgeable Michael Waterman will give a presentation about photography and the law. Topics that will be covered include photographers’ rights, access restrictions, rights of privacy, model releases, ownership of images, copyright protections, and more. The meeting will begin at 6:30 pm and as always the meeting is open to the public.
Superior Storm – Mike Chrun
I’ve been helping out with the Spring Break event this year that will be held on March 30. All the programs have been set and it looks like a great line-up, so if you have been waiting to register to see what will be offered now would be a great time to register. Two of the programs at Spring Break will also be presented at our club meetings this year. Michelle Terrell will be presenting her program “On Being a Birding Bird Photographer” on March 6 and Mike Chrun will present his program on “North Shore Winter Photography” later this year. Our own Carl Wegener will also be making a presentation on his Recycle Your Camera for Kids project. You can download the day’s schedule here and speaker bios and detailed program descriptions here. More details and registration link are on the Spring Break page.
On Saturday, February 16, we arranged for the judging of all the digital entries for the 2019 Interclub Competition. 960 images were judged over a 5-hour period. Our three judges were Alec Johnson, Layne Kennedy and Mike Shaw. Though time did not allow for comments on all the images, there were some interesting discussions when it came to selecting the award winners. Thanks to Steve Cole, Mary Johnson, Sarah Nieminen, Becky VanDyk, and Jane Neumiller-Bustad for helping out. A special thanks goes to Melissa Anderson who made sure we had coffee and tea in the morning and lunch when we took a break.